title: Differential influence of peripheral and systemic sex steroids on skeletal muscle quality in pre- and postmenopausal women.
abstract: Aging is associated with gradual decline of skeletal muscle strength and mass often leading to diminished muscle quality. This phenomenon is known as sarcopenia and affects about 30% of the over 60-year-old population. Androgens act as anabolic agents regulating muscle mass and improving muscle performance. The role of female sex steroids as well as the ability of skeletal muscle tissue to locally produce sex steroids has been less extensively studied. We show that despite the extensive systemic deficit of sex steroid hormones in postmenopausal compared to premenopausal women, the hormone content of skeletal muscle does not follow the same trend. In contrast to the systemic levels, muscle tissue of post- and premenopausal women had similar concentrations of dehydroepiandrosterone and androstenedione, while the concentrations of estradiol and testosterone were significantly higher in muscle of the postmenopausal women. The presence of steroidogenetic enzymes in muscle tissue indicates that the elevated postmenopausal steroid levels in skeletal muscle are because of local steroidogenesis. The circulating sex steroids were associated with better muscle quality while the muscle concentrations reflected the amount of infiltrated fat within muscle tissue. We conclude that systemically delivered and peripherally produced sex steroids have distinct roles in the regulation of neuromuscular characteristics during aging.
authors.affiliation: Gerontology Research Center, Department of Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, FIN-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland.
authors.forename: Eija
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pöllänen
authors.forename: Sarianna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sipilä
authors.forename: Markku
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alen
authors.forename: Paula H A
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Ronkainen
authors.forename: Carina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ankarberg-Lindgren
authors.forename: Jukka
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Puolakka
authors.forename: Harri
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Suominen
authors.forename: Esa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hämäläinen
authors.forename: Ursula
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Turpeinen
authors.forename: Yrjö T
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Konttinen
authors.forename: Vuokko
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kovanen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000735:Androstenedione / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D000886:Anthropometry; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D017698:Postmenopause; D017697:Premenopause
chemical_list: D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones; D000735:Androstenedione; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone